


bring christmas back to me

by xxprincessxx



Series: 12 Days of Christmas [4]
Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: 12 Days of Christmas, Christmas fic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:22:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27819709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxprincessxx/pseuds/xxprincessxx
Summary: A long time ago, Nini stopped celebrating Christmas for reasons her friend was not aware about. Can he bring the Christmas back into her life?
Relationships: Ricky Bowen & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Series: 12 Days of Christmas [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2029471
Comments: 9
Kudos: 44





	bring christmas back to me

**Author's Note:**

> hope you all enjoy xx

_Christmas._

The most magical time of the year. Where snow is falling and there’s a warm cup of hot chocolate in your hand, piled high with marshmallows and whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon. Where you sit around the fireplace decked out in your coziest pair of pajamas as you watch a Christmas movie, usually on the Hallmark channel, cuddled up next to your significant other or your beloved family. Usually trading gifts with your family and friends as you partake of a fantastic meal to be shared with everyone.

When asked, most people would say their favourite holiday is Christmas, because of the number of gifts they get or because of how much they loved giving to others. Sometimes it’s because of the snow that scattered the streets and the trees, and other times it’s because of the music or the food.

But if you were to ask Nini, she absolutely hated Christmas.

This wasn’t always the case.

Nini used to _love_ Christmas growing up. Her Lola had made the holidays incredibly worthwhile. On the first of December, they would blast Christmas music throughout their home, while her entire family would work their way around the house putting up all of their decorations; from the tree to the garland, to the mistletoe that hung right over the door leading into the kitchen. She used to sit with her moms as they would paint Christmas cards to send out to their family across the country and her relatives in the Philippines, even if she’s never met them before. While her Lola would be in the kitchen brewing up a fresh pot of pure hot chocolate, not the kind made with cocoa powder and milk. But the one made from cacao tablets and butter and water, with only a splash of milk. According to her Lola, _tsokolate_ is tradition back home in the Philippines and they would drink it every year on Christmas.

And then in her senior year of high school came around, that's when everything went downhill from there. Lola Malou had gotten sick and it wasn’t long until she had passed on from Stage 4 Breast Cancer. And of course, it had to be during their favourite holiday season.

On the first of December in her senior year, it had been three months since they found out about the news, they still got together as a family for what they all thought was going to be their last Christmas together and decorated the house, but anyone could tell it wasn’t as lively as it usually was. Lola still made her infamous _tsokolate_ , while her and her moms made sure she wasn’t overworking herself. Two weeks later, they got a call from the hospital that changed their lives forever. Mama D didn’t take her mother’s death too well, and practically shoved all of the decorations back into boxes and shoved them into the attic to never see the light of day.

After that, they never celebrated Christmas again.

Now, she was 24 years old living in New York City. It was December 22nd and she was busy at the office, keeping herself busy just like she does every year. She hasn’t been home for Christmas in nearly four years, figuring there was no point in going home to a sullen and cold house where they could practically feel her Lola’s spirit passing through them as they sit on the couch on Christmas Day exchanging meaningless gifts.

Every year during the holidays, she would pick up more hours at the office, especially since most people were looking to have time off to spend with their family and friends. After she graduated from NYU, she started working at an ad agency and she loved it. New York has always been the dream, and this ad agency kind of just fell into her lap. Completely moving her life out to the east coast, and she hasn’t been happier. She figures it was probably best that she got out of Salt Lake after her Lola died. At some point it stopped feeling like home.

But New York? It sure did.

“Merry Christmas Nini!” A voice booms into her office, as she was in the middle of eating her lunch.

The brunette couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her co-worker, bright eyed and bushy tailed as he made his way into her office with a small box in his hands. The curly-haired boy seemed extremely excited that afternoon, probably having a great meeting that morning and landing that client he’s been talking about for the last two months.

“Ricky, I’ve been saying it every day since December first and I’m going to say it again,” She sits up straighter as the boy takes a seat across from her, setting the small red box down on her desk, “It’s not Christmas yet.”

“Yeah,” He shrugs nonchalantly, “But I also told you that to me Christmas starts on December first and ends on the twenty-fifth.”

Rolling her eyes once more, she watches as the boy steals a chip from her bag that she had bought from Subway along with her sandwich.

At the beginning of the year, Ricky Bowen had started working at Vazas Enterprises. He had moved in across the hall from her after the mean older woman had retired, and the pair instantly became good friends having a number of things in common. From their music taste to the shows and movies they like to watch, and even the restaurants around the city. Ricky even grew up in Salt Lake City, just like herself, but ended up moving out to Chicago after his parents go divorced in high school. Eventually he moved out to New York to start fresh without his mom breathing down his neck. 

They usually spent their lunch hours together munching on whatever they bought and talking about the latest office gossip. And on Fridays they would go to one of their apartments and watch a random movie and eat takeout as they relaxed after their busy week. He was probably one of her closest friends in New York, and as of lately she felt like there was something a little more to it.

That was until she realized how much he absolutely loved Christmas. She didn’t realize his love for Christmas until she had gone over to his apartment in the last week of November and his place was completely decked out with Christmas decorations, far too many for a bachelor to own.

He had told her that his dad’s favourite holiday has always been Christmas. After his parents divorce he would spend Christmas with his dad, and they would spend hours watching Christmas movies together as they decorated the house. But this was the first year he wasn’t able to make it back to Salt Lake and his dad was spending his holiday with his new girlfriend. So, Ricky decided to bring the Christmas spirit to his tiny shoebox of an apartment.

Nini didn’t quite have the heart to tell him she hated Christmas. She simply just told him it’s not her favourite holiday when she cringed at the decorations around his place, and he let the topic drop since then. But that didn’t stop his curious mind, and Nini knew eventually she would have to tell him.

“So,” Nini takes a bite from her sandwich, “What’s in the box?”

“Oh!” He slides the box over her desk, closer to her, “It’s for you.”

Taken aback by his statement, she sets her food back down on the green and white wrapper before gingerly playing with the perfectly wrapped box. It was this black and red wrapping paper, and it had a beautiful black bow tied around on top of the box, and her name was beautifully written on a brown little name tag. Despite her hatred of Christmas, she couldn’t help but be impressed by his fantastic gift wrapping skills. Wondering how he managed to do that, since he’s probably the most chaotic person she’s ever met in her life.

Picking up the box, she notices it was a lot lighter than she was expecting. She raises her gaze to see the boy trying his best to hide a smile behind his hands. Pressing her lips together in a fine line, her eyebrows knitting together confused by the sudden present, even if it was probably something stupid.

“Why did you get me something?” She asks, fiddling with the name tag.

Ricky's mouth turns down slightly, “Just open it, stupid.”

“But, Ricky, you know I don’t-”

“Nins, just open it.” He leans forward in his seat, “I was out with Big Red at the mall, he was buying something for Ashlyn and I saw that and it reminded me of you.”

Her tongue darts out, licking her dry lips, chapped from the cold weather, “Okay, fine.” She huffs, pulling at the ribbon slowly. “I’ve gotta say, your wrapping is one of the best I’ve ever seen.”

The boy chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck slightly abashed, “Thanks.”

Nini pokes her tongue out at him jokingly with a small wink, before she brings her attention back to peeling the tape off of the sides as carefully as she could. Whenever Nini got presents, whether that’d be for her birthday or Christmas she always tried to be as careful as possible. She knew the wrapping paper wasn’t ever going to be used again, but she hated having to collect every single ripped up piece to throw out in the trash.

After a good 45 seconds, Ricky was getting tired of watching his friend try to meticulously peel the tape off. “Oh my god! Just open it!”

“Wow,” Nini mutters sarcastically, startled by the boy’s outburst, “Someone’s impatient.”

“And someone’s too patient.”

“Okay, okay,” She waves him off, finally ripping the wrapping paper off of the small box.

The brunette’s eyes widen as she takes the object out of the box carefully. Slowly she pries open the little box that was inside of it, revealing a beautiful necklace. It was sterling silver and it had a small little pendant, two interlocked hearts, one silver and one gold.

A few weeks ago, Nini had to return some clothes at the mall and Ricky had offered to come along. Asides from returning some clothes, they walked around, mostly window shopping, and Nini had pulled him into one of her favourite jewelry stores. She had pointed out a few things that she had loed, but the necklace that she was now holding was the one piece that completely caught her attention. It was the one that she had stared at longer than the rest, and she nearly bought it herself. But she knew she didn’t need it, and it wasn’t any special occasion or anything. So, she opted out on buying it.

She didn’t think that Ricky would remember that, much less go out and buy it for her. It was far too expensive as a Christmas gift for a friend, and she felt like she couldn’t accept it.

“You remembered?” She breathes out, her finger grazing over the small pendant gently.

Ricky clears his throat, taking a sip from her soda that was sitting on the desk, “I mean, yeah. You stared at it for so long, and I saw it in the display again. And since I hadn’t bought your Christmas gift yet, I figured why not this?”

“Ricky, I can’t.” She breathes out, finally looking up at the boy.

“You can.” He chuckles, “It’s called a present, you are obligated to accept it whether you like it or not.”

“But, I didn’t get you anything” She pouts, her eyes softening as she looks at her smiling friend in front of her.

He continues to chuckle, “But you don’t have to.” He reassures her. “I know that you’re not the biggest fan of Christmas, and I never expected you to get me anything. I just thought that since you’re my friend and I really appreciate and adore you, you deserved a little Christmas spirit.”

“No, no. I feel bad, this must have cost you a lot.” She shakes her head, gnawing at her lip a little ashamed by his explanation.

“It’s not about the price, Nini.” He smiles, bringing his hand to cover one of hers running his thumb over her soft skin tenderly. “I don’t care how much I spend if it makes you happy.”

Nini presses her lips together, feeling an intense amount of emotion flowing through her as she remembers what the holidays used to mean to her. When gifts weren’t just about the price or for the sake of just getting someone something. When Christmas songs used to be the only thing she could listen to during the month of December, when she used to wish to be kissed under the mistletoe. When she had all these fantastic Christmas traditions she wanted to bestow onto her future family one day.

A lump begins to form in her throat, her eyes brimming with tears as her Lola’s face begins to fade into her mind. It was her Lola’s seventh year death anniversary just the other week, and Nini couldn’t bear to even think about it. It still hurt just as badly as the day they had lost her, and Nini couldn’t will herself to be reminded about the good times that they had shared. So she worked herself to the bone, just like she does every year, busying herself so it barely crossed her mind and just like every year it worked. 

But now, staring down at the necklace that Ricky had gifted her she couldn’t help but think about what Christmas used to mean to her. She hated that she had let it all go, she always wondered if she would ever love Christmas as much as she once did. And the gift sitting in her hands wasn’t bought out of obligation like most of the gifts she's received in the past, rather that he simply wanted to.

She couldn’t remember the last time she was given a Christmas present that meant more than her name simply being on a list of things to buy.

“Nins.” Ricky pressed his thumb into her hand, his voice was quiet and soft, noticing the tears threatening to spill over her cheeks. “I can return it if you really don’t want it.”

“No,” Nini clears her throat before setting the box down on the table wiping her tears away before they could fall, “Ricky, have I ever I told you why I don’t like Christmas?”

Frowning at her question, he shakes his head answering her nonetheless. Keeping his entire focus on the girl sitting in front of him, taking her other hand in his as he rubs soothing circles into her knuckles.

Quietly, Nini gets out of her seat and makes her way to the other side of the table, taking a seat as close to Ricky as she could. Knowing in her heart, that she couldn’t talk about her Lola while facing her friend. She hadn’t talked to anyone about her Lola’s death since high school.

Twining their fingers together, she takes a deep breath before continuing, “Senior year of high school my Lola, uh, grandma if you didn’t know, she died just before Christmas.” She gulps, speaking in a slow tone feeling Ricky’s grip on her hand tightening silently telling her that he was listening to every word. “Christmas was her favourite holiday, and it was mine too. We used to make this really good Filipino hot chocolate as we decorated the house and made Christmas cards to send out to our families.” She smiles at the memory.

Tilting her head to the side as a tear slips down her cheek, “After she died,” Nini’s voice dies in her throat, more tears beginning to fall. Ricky untangles one of their hands as he wipes the tears away for her, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple as he saw how she was struggling with the words that she wanted to say.

“You don’t have to say anything.” He mumbles against her hair before pulling back to look down at his friend.

The corner of Nini’s mouth quirks up slightly, but falls just as soon as it came, “It’s okay,” Nini sniffs, taking a few breaths gaining her confidence once more, “After she died, I lost the Christmas spirit. It just- it never felt right, celebrating without her.” She confesses.

“Oh, Nini,” He pulls her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her tightly, “Just because she’s not physically here doesn’t mean you’re celebrating without her.”

“What do you mean?” She murmurs against his shoulder, where her head was buried as she let her tears fall down onto his dress shirt.

Running his fingers through her pin straight hair, “You celebrate your Lola every day of the year.” He tells her, “She’s in your heart, Nins. You’ll always have your Lola, anywhere you go and in anything that you do. She is so proud of the woman you’ve become, and she wants you to be happy.”

“How can I be happy during Christmas when she’s not here?” She asks quietly.

“You talked about the traditions you guys would do when she was here, doesn’t keeping up with them keep her spirit alive? Like she’s right there next to you, making a funny joke or telling another story from her childhood. Let her in Nini, let her fill your heart and it’ll be like she’s right here with you.” Ricky rubs her back soothingly.

“Okay,” Nini sniffs again, nodding her head against his chest, “Lola would’ve loved you, Ricky.”

He chuckles into her hair before pulling from their embrace, “Are you feeling any better?” Ricky asks, placing one of his hands on her cheek as he looks into her warm brown eyes.

“Yeah,” Nini nods, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For bringing Christmas back to me.” She answers, “For bringing Lola back to me.”

“You always had her, Nini.” He runs his thumb along her cheek lovingly, “How about tonight you show me that fantastic hot chocolate recipe you were talking about? We can even make Christmas cards if you want, and you can tell me all about your Christmases growing up, hm?”

Nini surprises him by leaning in and pressing her lips against his cheek, “You’re the best, did you know that?”

“I try.” He teases.

“Merry Christmas, Ricky.” She smiles.

Pulling his lip in between his teeth, a smile slipping onto his face, pressing a kiss to her forehead before whispering, “Merry Christmas, Nini.”


End file.
